


Okay, What The Fuck Is Zero

by SprungSick



Series: Applying Zero [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angst, Gen, Graphic Description of Injury, Haha what's that, I am bringing in all of Tommys role models yes, Im literally vibing, Me and exposition go together like peanut butter and a kid with allergies, Minor Violence, Not Beta Read, Rip everybody especially me, Slightly gory tbh, Swearing, Tommy does not Have A Good Time, Very lore heavy, Yes its me back at it again neglecting everything else, aheh, fusion au, like kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SprungSick/pseuds/SprungSick
Summary: Tommy learns.As does Wilbur and Dream.(Set immediately after the previous installment)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, No Romantic Relationship(s), Please dear god no absolutely not, TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: Applying Zero [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009803
Comments: 92
Kudos: 611





	Okay, What The Fuck Is Zero

**Author's Note:**

> TW - Graphic descriptions of injury, dehumanization
> 
> Hahahahahahahah RIP 
> 
> I'm supposed to be working on other stuff but heehee hoohoo my dumb a s s had to do this pile of dirt
> 
> Also I am absolutely running out of titles-

Wilbur left without question - although confused, he looked as though he would rather go retrieve Dream instead of cause any distress. His absence meant Tommy had nothing to do; he shifted on the bed, ran his hands through his hair, and lightly traced the two rings he used to never think of. They felt slightly warm. Instinctively, he knew that they weren’t heating up - they were cooling down from something. 

Just as he began to consider fucking shit up just for the sake of it, his front door opened and two figures shuffled in. 

“Tommy!” 

The person in question waved his hand and motioned for the two to sit. He pulled his face into a grin in spite of his fatigue. 

“Dream! My man! How are you doing Big D?” 

“I should be asking that, Tommy. You just woke up, haven’t you?” 

“Yes, yes. But it’s polite and shit to ask how you’re doing, and since I’m a polite man that’s what I did.” 

Wilbur huffed, crossing his arms. “If you invited him just to have a chat when I’m right here, I’m going to be very offended.”

Tommy cast a lopsided grin. The two had pulled out chairs, Wilbur sitting within arm’s reach and Dream practically on the other side of the room. He had positioned himself to be both far away from Tommy and from the only exit. Gratefulness swelled inside him for no good reason. 

“You’re just jealous of what good friends we are,” Tommy replied. Outside his window, he noticed pillowy soft clouds drift by. 

Dream scratched at his mask. “Well, I wouldn’t call us friends.” 

“Fuck you!” 

The three giggled, latching onto what light banter he created to avoid the inevitable future. Reluctantly, he brought his hand back up to his temple. 

“But seriously though, how are you feeling? I wasn’t lying when I said it’s been a couple of days.”

“I’m fine,” Tommy said dismissively. 

Behind his mask, Tommy was sure Dream was squinting. If so, it meant he had two narrowed stares directed his way. He shook himself slightly. 

“I’m genuinely fine! A little tired, but not too much,” he insisted. “Anyways, we have more important shit to get to.” 

“That being?” 

Tommy looked between the two, measuring their response. He consciously sucked in a breath. 

“You know that offer you gave me? That one night?” When he saw Dream nod slowly, he continued. “Yeah, I think I’m going to accept it. I- I can’t have that happen again.” 

Dream nodded, shoulders hunching in and chin ducking with the weight of the world. With the levity of his words. 

“What?”

Ah. Wilbur. Right. 

Despite knowing that he was there, the vast majority of him refused to do any sort of explanation. The very thought seemed too exhausting, too uncomfortable. He focused on Wilbur’s large striped sweater to avoid the distrustful slant in his brows. 

Dream broke the silence. “Okay. I- I think you’ll have to rest a lot more before we can do any training, but I can start asking around.” 

“Wait wait wait, hold on-” Wilbur sprung up, the distrust melting away into righteous anger- “What the fuck are you two talking about? Training? An offer?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s safe, Dream will be supervising, it’s really not a problem-” 

A loud slam silenced his thoughts. Wilbur - with wide eyes and a downturned mouth - had brought both his hands down against his bedside desk. Leaning on it despite having to hunch in on himself, he took a steadying breath. Tommy suddenly felt a bit too cramped. 

“Tommy,” Wilbur finally said, voice deathly soft. “This is my problem. Anything that concerns your safety will always be my problem. 

“Right now-” he continued as rage built in his voice- “All I know is that you suddenly fused with an enemy, turned into a goddamn light porcupine as soon as you unfused, and collapsed for several days after. Now, without any sort of explanation for that incident, you’re agreeing to some sort of deal which I have never been made aware of.” 

He took another deep breath. Tommy became acutely aware of the few inches that separated him and Wilbur. 

“I care about you, Tommy. And I care about your safety. So please, what the fuck is going on?” 

For a moment, no one spoke. Wilbur - with a hardened face and steeled shoulders not at all reminiscent of his diplomatic title - refused to speak. Dream - sitting quietly in the shadows, guard up high and completely indiscernible - refused to speak. Tommy - on his own bed with his scrambled together self falling apart into his hands - refused to breathe. 

“I-” 

“I offered to train him,” Dream cut in. “We… we ran into each other the other night and we got on the topic of Tommy and his fusion. So, I said I could help if he wanted me to.” 

Appeased, Wilbur cautiously retreated back to his seat. “And why would he need it?” 

“Well-” 

Dream looked to Tommy, intent apparent. He froze for a moment, indecision gagging and forcing the seconds to stretch. A part of him noted how - even with his closest friends - his trust never could extend that far. 

In spite of the pressure weighing down his chest, he nodded. Wrote his signature on this unspoken contract. 

Whether it be his death or his salvation, he would soon see. 

He watched Dream nod back in assurance, watched him shift to a more alert position. Watched him fidget with his sleeves as he bared Tommy’s soul for him. 

“Tommy… Tommy can’t control any of the fusions he takes a part of. Despite being insanely powerful, he said that he essentially takes a back seat. I told him that he could come to me if he wanted to figure out why or how to not. So like, fusion training.” 

Horror desaturated Wilbur’s skin as he whipped around, the confusion and outrage quickly replaced with shock. 

Tommy nodded and felt intensely similar to being three feet tall. 

“Yeah,” he added weakly. “That pretty much sums it up.” 

“Can you- can you control anything?” Wilbur asked, voice grasping and perturbed. “Can you, like, talk? Or summon a weapon? Can you- fuck- can you even see?” 

Tommy shook his head. He kept his eyes trained on his uneven wooden floors. 

“No. I just get fused, control my power input, and wait until they get too tired to keep the fusion up. Found a neat trick though. With the raider.” 

Silence. He counted five knots in one of the wooden panels. 

“You can’t even consent to being fused?” 

The voice, so small and resigned that it commanded his head to shoot up, came from Dream. Even from a distance, Tommy could tell he was slightly shaking. 

He nodded once. The action was met with two harsh inhales and a burst of movement. 

“Jesus fuck-” 

“That explains why you fused with that fucker-” 

“I’m going to kill him, I’m going to beat him with a shovel and watch him bleed-” 

“He’s alive?” Tommy interrupted. His loud intrusion achieved its goal - the two stopped in their pacing and turned their scrutiny onto him. 

“Yeah, barely,” Dream snorted. “The ones that didn’t run away made a deal with us - we’d give them a chance to heal before they retreat, but they lose their valuables and are stuck in confinement.” 

Tommy hummed, pretending to understand completely. He stayed there for several moments, bobbing his head slightly and brushing away his hair. 

Oh. Right. 

“Uhm, actually.” 

Their attention snapped back to him, the sudden change forcing him off guard. 

“Can we- uh. Can we go to talk to him?” 

“What?” Wilbur said sharply. Protective anger shone clearly on his face. 

“I just have to ask him something. Because like- you know how I had to tell you guys for you to know all about my fusion shit? Well, that guy just-” he pushed his hair away from his temple, pointing to his birthmark- “he somehow knew as soon as he saw this. I have no idea how. I need to know what the fuck he knows.” 

Wilbur stepped closer, peering curiously at the exposed skin. 

“What, your birthmark?” He thoughtlessly poked at it, touch gentle and fleeting. “So you’re saying that everything somehow relates to this, or where it came from-” 

As soon as Wilbur’s finger touched the center of the two rings, his vision blurred. The world swayed, morphing into a dizzying void and he couldn’t see, nothing was real, he was stuck floating in the abyss- 

“-Woah, woah woah! Easy, easy!” 

He opened his eyes to Wilbur’s face inches from his own, hands pressing into his sleeves to keep him upright; in the corner of his vision, he saw Dream rushing forward. 

“What-” he coughed, throat inexplicably raw. “What just happened?” 

Wilbur eased him into leaning against where the wall met his bed. “I’m not sure. You just kind of went limp all of a sudden.” 

“Like a power button,” Dream supplied. His flippant words didn’t match the undercurrent of his tone. “You just like, turned off. Has that ever happened before?” 

“Well, people don’t just go around pressing on weird shit on people’s skin. What a world that would be, huh?” 

“Okay, so that’s never happened before.” Wilbur began to gently rub his clothed shoulder. “Do you think it’s a part of all the- all the other shit?” 

All Tommy could do was nod. 

“Okay. Okay.” 

Wilbur stood, a fire blazing behind his eyes. 

“We’re getting answers. Right. Fucking. Now.” 

*** 

As soon as Wilbur was sure he was alright, they set off. He felt somewhat awkward - as they guided him to their temporary confinement cells, the two had taken to guarding both of his sides. Wilbur especially hovered around him, an arm inconspicuously ever-present a couple of inches behind his back. Dream continued to stay comfortably out of his personal bubble. 

“Oh. You guys seriously just made a prison, huh?” 

Somewhat off the road rested several hastily-made structures, their slightly slanting concrete walls reinforced with obsidian. He counted four in total with several people assigned to each - a task easily done through the thick iron bars trapping them in. They all looked bandaged and worn. 

“We absolutely did. Well, they want to call it ‘confinement cells’, but a sheep is a sheep no matter how you slice it.” 

Tommy startled slightly, zeroing in on Techno sitting in the center of the four cells. He looked bored - if his lax sitting position wasn’t enough of a clue, the rhythmic tossing of his trident in the air could easily give it away. Techno must have been there to prevent an unwanted escape. 

Wilbur leaned over, voice barely higher than a whisper. “If you want to summon your weapon, you can. We aren’t going to judge.” 

He obviously rejected the offer, striding into the make-shift prison with an arrogant grin and snark on his tongue. Because he wasn’t scared. Not at all. 

Ha. 

Quietly, he felt his javelin sink into his hand - lacking the two rings, just to mess with his head even more. He summoned it to look intimidating. That’s what it was. 

He barely contained his relief when he saw Dream’s and Wilbur’s hands glow momentarily white. 

“So, Techno,” Tommy started. “Ignoring the fact that you guys practically imprisoned a bunch of hostages, I have a favor to ask of you.” 

Techno picked at his trident’s grip, disinterested. “That being?”

“I’ve got a couple of questions for one of these people. You know- the one I fused with a couple of days ago? Yeah. Do you mind showing me which cell he’s in? And - I dunno - isolate him or some shit?” 

The hands moving along the trident froze. Even shielded by a netherite helmet, Tommy could see the way his eyes narrowed and face closed off. 

“And why do you need to do that?” 

“He’s not going to try to fuse,” Wilbur cut in. “He- he doesn’t want that. We just think that the guy he fused with has a couple of answers for Tommy’s… predicament.” 

They all held their breath. He heard wheezing gasps come from the nearest cell. 

“Ah. By predicament, do you mean-” Techno lifted an arm high above his head, miming a person much taller than him. 

Tommy nodded. He’d been doing that a lot, recently. 

Techno sighed, the stiffness leaving his posture as he turned and motioned for them to follow. “Sure then. Just come over here, he’s in the farthest cell. He’ll be pretty easy to spot though. You basically made him a sad pincushion of blood and despair- it's a bit gruesome, really.” 

“That is in no way my fault. I absolutely did not do that, no sir.”

“He literally unfused half-dead, and then you came back to life just to fucking finish the job-” 

Tommy froze at the last entrance, breath leaving through his gritted teeth. Because. 

Oh. 

Protected by two other people was a body with more resemblance to a corpse than a person. Bandages - already bloodied and dripping with infectious pus - compressed the entirety of his torso and arms; despite this, hastily stitched punctures littered what skin remained bare. He couldn’t even breathe correctly. His chest rose and fell erratically, the movement too shallow to do any sort of help. And his face- 

Well. 

Tommy decided to never look at his face again. 

“Holy shit,” he murmured, mostly under his breath. Caution replaced with pure shock, he moved forward until he was pressed against the bars. 

“Yeah,” Techno said from behind him. “You really messed him up. It’s a miracle his friends managed to get him even close to alive. I thought he would die pretty quickly.” 

A part of him screamed to kill him right then. Another part of him whispered to get answers. 

Tommy turned his focus to the man’s two allies - an androgynous-looking archer nursing two limp arms and an intimidating woman who barely seemed awake. “Do you mind waking him up?” 

“He’s already awake, dumbass,” the woman piped up. Even laying prone with an arm over her eyes, he had to suppress a flinch. 

“Ah, okay.” 

He waited for the man to shift, talk - anything to give an indication that he was listening in. Without it, he was forced to stand awkwardly and run his fingers along his javelin. 

Finally, a cough. 

“What-” the somewhat high voice had deepened, now rasping with every syllable- “the fuck do you want?” 

“Answers,” Dream replied, making Tommy jump. He had been so silent that he nearly forgot he was there. 

“Yeah, answers,” Tommy repeated. 

“For what?” The man’s head lolled to the side - Tommy refused to check whether his eyes were trained on him. “We already told you everything we had planned. We even gave you all our shit. Please, what more could you greedy bastards possibly need?” 

“I need to know how you figured me out.” 

At that, the man finally moved. Despite shaking and shivering with the effort, he propped himself onto his elbows with a resolution he previously lacked. Everything about him changed; no longer did he appear to be a weak prisoner on the brink of death - he much more resembled a predator, zeroing in. If Tommy looked at his face, he was sure he would forget to breathe. 

He laughed - strained, knowing. Blistering cold shot through Tommy’s chest. 

“It’s you, isn’t it? That little kid who I cornered on the mountain. Who didn’t even know what he was, or how fucking easily I could use him-” 

The man began to crawl towards the bars. Tommy focused on his disjointed gait, not his face. 

“Oh, what fun we had. At least, until those little stunts you pulled. I didn’t know someone like you could do that- fuck, I doubt anyone has done that before.” 

“What-” 

“It was a shame, such a shame,” the man continued, voice nothing short of wild. “Funnily enough, you were easier to overpower when unfused. I didn’t know that could happen with your lot. That should be reversed.” 

Tommy couldn’t move. 

“It will be reversed.” 

Suddenly, the man shot up with new energy - hands slamming against the bars and reaching, outstretched and grasping straight, straight for his forehead- 

He screwed his eyes shut and cried out- 

Please- 

Rough hands yanked him by the shirt, his back making contact with an armored chest. Tense arms quickly pulled him closer and wrapped tightly around his torso - a poor semblance of a hug, more preparation to get away. He immediately lurched further back. 

Outside his closed eyes, he heard an animalistic wail.

His eyes opened to the sight of Wilbur’s and Dream’s backs. 

And- 

On the ground inside the cell, the man had hunched over his middle. His face - the face he tried so desperately to ignore - had scrunched up in agony. God, it looked more like an explosion - the skin across his forehead and cheeks ripped open and peeled, exposed muscle glistening with blood which oozed in ways he had never seen- 

He looked to the hands still clenched around the bars. If he wasn’t currently restrained, he would have stabbed them. 

Instead, he settled into Techno’s arms. They refused to let go. 

“You’re lucky that you’re not dead,” Wilbur announced, voice so cutting it injured on its own. “Fuck, it’s still on the table. You will never fucking touch him. You even try to, the deal is off. We’ll kill you, then your allies, then everyone in your fucking group.” 

The man’s laughter rang out, pained and deranged. “You act like I did something wrong.” 

Dream took a step forward, axe at the ready. 

“What, do you fuckers not even know?” At their silence, he laughed even louder. “Holy shit. You have this tool at your disposal, and you don’t even know. That’s hilarious. You’re all so dumb, so so fucking dumb!” 

Tommy momentarily flashed back to their first encounter. Back then, the raider had been composed - calculating, even. 

All that composure was gone. Only pure, power-hungry madness. 

“Look at his temple, dumbasses-” he let loose of one of the bars to stab at the side of his head- “that’s the sign of his people. Heh, ‘people’. It means he’s one of them. The ones that we bred and shit, you know?” 

“What?” Tommy whispered. The man levied his swollen-shut stare straight onto him. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” 

He giggled, the action moving him in undoubtedly uncomfortable ways. “Oh, you don’t even know that shit. Should I give you all a little history lesson?” 

Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “A long time ago in a distant, distant land-” he giggled at his own words- “there were a couple of smart, smart people. They saw that some fuckers had a natural talent for fusing, along with a weak will that made them easier to control. And, well, they took advantage of that.” 

Techno froze behind him. The grip on his waist tightened. 

“Eventually- after many, many generations of tweaking and refining, we got to where we are today.” The man’s hands moved wildly as he talked. “And now we have people like him, roaming the lands. People that give away their power whenever we need them to. Natural batteries, at our disposal!” 

He jabbed a finger towards Tommy. He couldn’t fucking think. 

“A wealth of infinite power, just laying there. Perfectly marked, just for people like us. You know, in my lands, fuckers like him weren’t allowed to cover their temples. We didn’t get many, though. Too far or some shit.

“But none of them, none of them were able to do the bullshit you pulled. They couldn’t do anything. Oh my God, they couldn’t do anything. Yet you went and fucking exploded me, you useless piece of shit.” 

“That’s enough!” He wasn’t sure who yelled it. He could only stay frozen and stare, stare, stare. 

“You’re defective,” the man spat.

He didn’t know who he was. 

Wilbur stepped forward and brought his sharpened feather down. 

The man dropped. Stayed limp on the cell floor. Tommy could only look on. Could only stay still. Could only be the good little tool that he was supposed to be. 

Two new pairs of hands landed on him, a concerned face and mask invading his field of vision. They worriedly pat down his arms, spoke hushed words - always on his clothes, never on his skin. He wondered when he last blinked. He wondered if it mattered any more. 

“-ommy? Tommy?” 

He blinked. Looked up. Remembered where he was.

“Yeah, I’m up,” he finally croaked. “I’m- that’s- I-” 

Dream and Wilbur gently let go, their hands replaced with the weight of a red cloak. They readjusted - Techno hesitantly moving away, Wilbur slinging a firm arm across his shoulders, and Dream coming to his side. He gripped the edges of the cloak. 

Didn’t he materialize his javelin at one point? 

“I have to stand guard until the next shift,” Techno murmured. 

Wilbur nodded, tightening his grip. “We’ll bring him home, let him process. After that, we can- we can figure this all out.” 

He heard more conversation happen around him. Frankly, he was a bit too far gone reeling to pay any attention. 

Eventually, they started moving. He followed their lead. 

The clouds seemed a bit aimless that day. 

*** 

“You’re- you’re going to figure this out, right?” 

“We are, Tommy. I promise you that we are.” 

“And- and- after, you’re going to help? Help control it?” 

“Absolutely. Whether it be me or him or someone else, we’ll do everything we can, okay?” 

“You’re not- you’re not going to use- are you going to-” 

“Never. Never in a million fucking years.”

**Author's Note:**

> I exist in a vacuum in which I can only Fuck Tommy Up in fics. It's quite remarkable, actually
> 
> I genuinely didn't mean for this to come out so quickly, but I just couldn't focus on writing TTEAB (hehe teeb) for long enough to feel productive. But honestly, I'm feeling pretty excited to focus back on that now that the Fusion Urge has passed for the time being 
> 
> Next installment will also be more light-hearted, I promise-


End file.
